Should a Blog Without Comments Be Called a Blog?

Jan 01, 2007

This is a question being raised at TechCrunch in a post titled What Is The Definition Of A Blog? Basically, Michael has referred to Google’s recent post about blogging there last year and he says if no comments are allowes at Google’s blog, should it be called a “blog”?

Commenting is a prominent feature of blogging. It not only develops or nurtures a community on your blog, it also brings you repeat visitors. Many blogs disable the comments feature either due to the spam problem, or due to the extra hassle it brings for some bloggers. But I don’t think commenting is a hassle — it’s just a part of your blogging. I’m not saying you’re a bad blogger if you don’t allow comments, but without the ability to comment, the blog becomes claustrophobic; it seems like you just want to blow your own horn. Again, it depends on the individual blogger and it also depends on your orientation (I don’t mean “that” orientation ).